Raikkonen buys Stone's Corvette

This article was sent to you from MONACO (Reuters) - Ferrari's Formula One world champion Kimi Raikkonen paid 200,000 euros (159 thousand pounds) for a 1974 Chevrolet Corvette owned by Hollywood actress Sharon Stone at a Monaco Grand Prix charity auction, organisers said.

The car, stored in Los Angeles and said to have just four miles on the clock, was one of the top lots at a glittering Amber Fashion show in aid of the Elton John Aids Foundation on Friday night.

Indian drinks and aviation billionaire Vijay Mallya, co-owner of the Force India Formula One team, paid 226,000 euros for a concert piano used by Elton John to write his "Songs from the West Coast" album in 2001.

Mallya also donated a one-week cruise on his 95-metre "Indian Empress", one of the largest privately-owned yachts in the world, with that going under the hammer for 375,000 euros to a private bidder.

McLaren's Lewis Hamilton, Honda's Jenson Button, Red Bull's Mark Webber and Renault's Nelson Piquet were among drivers modelling a collection designed by Formula One supremo Bernie Ecclestone's daughter Petra.

The auction, at Monaco's Meridien Beach Plaza hotel, raised almost 1 million euros.

Sunday's race through the streets of the Mediterranean principality is the highlight of Formula One's social calendar, with billionaires, chief executives and movie stars among the celebrity audience. (Reporting by Alan Baldwin; Editing by Sonia Oxley)